As the fateful anniversary approahces there will no doubt be articles and interviews in the media and i thought it would be a good idea to have a thread where people could post excerpts from these articles which maybe appear in your local press for example, which would not be widely available to fans worldwde.

To start the ball rolling I am attaching excerpts from various articles in this weeks Salford Advertiser including an interview with Albert Scanlon, one of the survivors of the crash....

"There will be no tears from former Busby Babe Albert Scanlon when he attends a memorial service at Old Trafford to mark the 50th anninversary of the Muncih air disaster.
As he stands beside Sir Bobby Charlton, Harry Gregg, Bill Foulkes and Kenny Morgans - the last survivors of Sir Matt Busby's famous squad - on February 6, he is aware that the eyes of many will be on him.
'All 5 of us are aware that we are on show and that the ceremony will take its lead from us. We want it to be a dignified and thoughtful service to our mates. It's not that we dont feel sad - these were people we knew personally and there isn't a day goes by when I dont think about the ones who died. I'm sure that Bobby and the others feel exactly the same. Its just that the time for tears was 50 years ago. Our tributes will still be heartfelt, just a little more muted.'
Albert will be one of the VIP guests invited to Old Trafford for a memorial service timed to coincide with the moment in 1958 that the plane carrying players and staff back from a successful trip to Belgrade, crashed on take-off from Munich. The service will complement a free permanent exhibition which tells the story of the Busby Babes. The exhibition will be unveiled in the South Stand tunnel at the stadium - which will be renamed the Munich Tunnel. It will chart their early triumphs, through the tragedy of the crash and up to the Reds becoming the first Englsih team to win the European Cup in 1968.
Albert was only 22 when he was pulled from the wreckage of the plane by fellowplayer Harry Gregg. He remembers little about the fatal crash other than Billy Whelan turning to him during the take-off and saying 'Albert, this is the end but I' ready for it'.' Tragically Billy Whelan's prediction was right - he did not survive and neither did 7 other players including two Salford lads Geoff Bent and Eddie Colman... The first conscious memory Albert has after the crash was waking up in hospital in a room with the co-pilot, Dennis Viollet, Ray Wood, Bobby Charlton and Kenny Morgans, and being told gradually and gently that his mates had died. The closest home match to the anniversary is the derby on February 10 against Manchester City, who provided considerable support and assistance in the immediate aftermath of the crash. Their former goalkeeper Frank Swift- a sports reporter for the News of the World, was on the ill-fated flight and died in the crash."

"Eddie Colman, born in Archie Street, Salford, was just 21 when he died in the Munich air crash.
He was widely regarded as the best player England never had because although he never played for his country, for many it was only a matter of time before he got the call.
It was while playing for Salford Boys hr was spotted by Matt Busby who later recalled he had an 'indefinable inherent brilliance which no amount of coaching could provide'.
He became a member of United's youth team and made his debut for the senior side at the age of 19 in a match against Bolton Wanderers at Burnden Park on November 12 1955.
Eddie became a favourite of the press who dubbed him 'snakehips' for his mesmeric body swerve. Eddie's influence on the United side that won the Championship in consecutive seasons, 1955/56 and 1956/57, was enormous.
In the book 'The Busby Babes: Men of Magic' by Max Arthur, Eddie's father described the heartache of waiting for his son's coffin to return home. Eddie's dog had waited patiently at the corner of the street until the hearse appeared and as soon as the coffin was brought into the house, the dog ran in and sat underneath it.
Thousands turned out for Eddie Colman's funeral and his burial at Weaste Cemetery. Later the few possessions that Eddie had been carrying with him on the plane were returned to the family. They consisted of a wallet with a few pounds in it and a paper bag containing an apple, an orange, a quarter of tea, and two pounds of sugar that his mother had packed for him."

"Geoff Bent was captain of Salford Boys and aged just 15 when he was signed by United. Other clubs had shown interest but as he was an only son, his mother decided he should go to Manchester United.
A gifted player, he would have shone in any other side but, unfortunately was overshadowed at United by Roger Byrne, and only got a game when Roger was injured or on international duty.
Geoff only played 12 first team games and accompanied the team to Belgrade in case Roger's injuries did not respond to treatment. He was at the game as a spectator and died, as did Roger Byrne, in the crash.
He met hiw wife Marion at Swinton Palais when he was 17 and they were married in 1953 and had one daughter, Karen.
Albert Scanlon recalls that Geoff Bent was 'a very quite fellow' who inspired affection in Salford because he had been captain of Salford Boys when they won the Schools Shield in 1948."

How one mother's son personified the waste of so many young lives
The old lady's house was full of memories. There were scrapbooks and letters, pictures and postcards, all the poignant minutiae of a short and shining life. She handled each item tenderly, with the pride of a mother.

Several times she smiled, as incidents sprang unbidden to mind. And once she shed a tear, as she remembered her infant son, kicking a ball.

Sarah Ann Edwards closed her eyes and gently shook her head. "Mah Dooncan," she said, in the broad vowels of the Black Country.

He was a devil for the football. You couldn't take the football away from him."

She was a lovely lady, Mrs Edwards; a warm, kindly soul, always topping up your tea and producing more sandwiches. "There, that'll keep you going," she'd say, the way mothers do.

She died in 2003, at the great age of 93. But the light had gone out of her life more than 45 years earlier.

Whenever we think of Munich, we remember her lad, the one with the barrel chest and thighs like oaks. Of course, we acknowledge the pain of all those other grieving families, but the disaster was so vast and so randomly cruel that it resists comprehension; far easier to select one young man as the personification of the promise, the joy, and the heart-rending waste. Duncan Edwards has filled that role for half a century.

When the first reports of the crash came in, I remember my father calling home from the sports room at the News Chronicle. He knew many of the people on the plane, and some were good friends. An instinctively calm man, he sounded shocked and helpless. He called several times, but his voice kept on breaking. In the end, he left us to our tears.

To understand our anguish, it was necessary to understand how we felt about those men. We did not know them in the way we believe we know the modern players. For one thing, we rarely saw them play. There was no live football on television, save the FA Cup Final.

To watch these players, you went to the ground when they came to your town.

By definition, only a small number of people could take that option, so you grew to know the team by rumour and report.

And all the rumours, all the reports insisted that Manchester United were exceptional.

In his wonderful book on the tragedy, the journalist John Roberts illustrated the human qualities of young men thrust into the spotlight and blinking in its glare.

There was a young Dubliner, hugely gifted yet fearfully shy. When he arrived at Old Trafford, he was greeted by Johnny Carey, captain of United and Ireland.

"What's your name, then?" said Carey.

"Liam," said the lad. "Liam, is it?" smiled Carey. "Well, you hold on to that name, Liam. They'll try and take it away from you here."

And, of course, they did. To Mancunians, he was always the anglicised 'Billy'. But he never protested.

Apparently, when required to wear a club blazer on social occasions, he would throw a coat over his shoulder to hide the badge, so that nobody would think him grand. He was a fine man, was Liam Whelan.

And Tommy Taylor, the dramatically accomplished striker. Leave aside the strength and the pace.

Remember, instead, the youthful uncertainty.

After the crash, Taylor's sister-in- law went to his digs to collect his things. "We found two little black and yellow books," she said. "One was Teach Yourself Public Speaking, the other was Teach Yourself Maths. It broke my heart. They showed just how much he wanted to improve himself."

Mark that reference to 'digs'. That was the way of things when you earned £20 a week in winter and £17 in summer. You lived in digs if unmarried, and a club house when the knot was tied.

And that way was accepted by young men like Billy Foulkes, the miner who worried about leaving the security of the pit, and Bobby Charlton, of whom great things were expected.

They were essentially ordinary people, save for their talent.

And Edwards was the most talented of all.

As a boy, I saw him defeat the Scots at Wembley. I thought him a magical figure, yet I wondered if the years had inflated the legend.

So last week I consulted Sir Tom Finney, a contemporary of Edwards.

"Wonderful player," said Sir Tom. "He was so strong that people could only see the power. But he had a very delicate touch.

"He was 18 when he won his first cap, and some thought that was too soon. But I didn't. Duncan was already a good player who was going to be a great one."

But then it ended; suddenly, brutally. The airliner crashed at its third attempt to take off from a frozen airfield.

And the young men perished. "I remember the sadness," said Finney. "Terrible sadness. The club came back and prospered, but they never had better than the side of '58."

Mrs Edwards once told me how she had encouraged her son to take up a trade, in case his football should not live up to expectations.

"He said he might try his hand at cabinetmaking but he was only trying to please me."

And she said something else.

She remarked how touched she was to find fresh flowers on his grave in Dudley cemetery whenever United played at Wolverhampton or Villa.

"Fancy them remembering after all this time," she said. Yet, secretly, she knew they would always remember. For this was Duncan Edwards. Such men are never forgotten.

Football is like life - it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.
"My greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their fornicate perch...and you can print that."SAF

A survivor of the plane crash that took the lives of eight team-mates in 1958, a European Cup winner 10 years later and part of the delegation who made initial contact with Sir Alex Ferguson 21 years ago, Charlton has been at the core of events that have shaped the club he continues to represent as a director and ambassador.

On Wednesday, he will take his place at an emotional Old Trafford ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of what people in his beloved Manchester refer to simply as 'Munich'.
It will be a difficult day for one of Sir Matt Busby's favourite sons but Charlton firmly believes that the current United first team are an enduring tribute to his late manager and his fallen colleagues.

Charlton said: "They would be very proud of the way this team play, really, they would. Their coach was Jimmy Murphy, the manager was Matt Busby and their philosophy was always adventurous football.

"Matt always said to me: 'All those lads you see in the morning going into work at Trafford Park, they come to watch you on a Saturday. They have a boring job so you have to give them something a little bit special, something they will enjoy'.

"He was always saying: 'Don't be afraid to express yourselves' and that's how it is now with the wonderful and exciting players we have. They know how to express themselves and it's wonderful. And fitting."

At 70, Charlton remains immediately recognisable as the man who scored twice when United beat Benfica at Wembley to win the European Cup on behalf of those who had died 10 years before.

But to Charlton, Munich remains an open wound and he worries that as time passes and memories fade, so will the legacy of those who died.

He was only 20 at the time of the disaster and new to the team who were ripped apart on the afternoon of February 6, 1958.

Charlton clearly remains in awe of his late friends.

"You look at old films of the players and you think everything is slow and ponderous," he smiled.

"But, I tell you, in those days you had to earn your wage. The pitches were unbelievably bad, the ball was heavy, the weather was bad.

"What happened was a tragedy. It's really, really upsetting, even today. But it's better for me to tell people how good they were. I would hate to think people would forget it.

"People don't believe me sometimes when I tell them how good Duncan Edwards was. Tommy Taylor. David Pegg. Eddie Colman. Billy Whelan. They all had unbelievable ability.

"Look at Duncan. He was just a massive, massive talent. That's the only way I can describe him. There's a picture on the wall of the old youth team room and he looks twice the size of anybody else.

"In stature he was enormous. He was strong, he was tough, he could use his right foot, his left foot. He was a great long passer, a great short passer, he had great stamina and he could play in any position he wanted. And he was only 21. Incredible."

They say modern footballers do not care but United's first-team squad certainly listened earlier this month when Charlton addressed them after showing them a DVD of Munich. By all accounts, it was a remarkable occasion.

Dragged from the wreckage of the stricken plane by United goalkeeper Harry Gregg, Charlton suffered cuts to his head in the crash and spent a week in the same Munich hospital where the likes of Edwards lost their own struggles for life.

"I was young and concussed after the accident and I didn't find out until the following morning who had actually been killed," recalled Charlton, who has often spoken of the guilt he still feels.

"It was like someone reading out the names of pals you go to the dance with at the weekend.

"Friends who would invite you to go to their house for dinner at Christmas because you were living in digs. Everyone was so happy, and there was so much laughter on the plane because we had qualified in Belgrade.

"There was a first attempt to take off but they said we had a technical problem and would have to go back. We did that for a second time and, again, the message came through that we couldn't take off.

"And then, the third time they called us, the plane just went straight along the runway.

"When you fly you have a general idea how long it takes to take off and I was sitting there thinking there's something not quite right here.

"We went through a perimeter fence and then I don't remember anything until afterwards."

Travelling around the world with United and seeing Charlton in his customary seat on the plane, you wonder how on earth he manages to do it.

On this issue, he is pragmatic.

"First of all, you can't not fly any more. I'm not saying I can ever enjoy flying, but it doesn't worry me as much as it used to. Flying now is a lot less dangerous than it used to be.

"The accident happened simply because they didn't realise the speed of the aircraft, how much slush was on the runway, how much snow was coming down.

"These days, they wouldn't have taken off. I think about it quite often, about captain James Thain and what his thoughts were, and why we took off. But I suppose it will never be proved."

Football is like life - it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.
"My greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their fornicate perch...and you can print that."SAF

RedSte wrote: Later the few possessions that Eddie had been carrying with him on the plane were returned to the family. They consisted of a wallet with a few pounds in it and a paper bag containing an apple, an orange, a quarter of tea, and two pounds of sugar that his mother had packed for him."

The thought of his mum receiving the item she just packed for her son is heartbreaking really.

If you missed the BBC4 docs, try these (but hurry, only available for 6 more days.):-

Nation on Film
Sir Bobby Remembers Munich
Duration: 30 minutes
Sir Bobby Charlton tells the story of the Munich air disaster fifty years on. He gives a personal account of the event and its impact.
(Available for 6 more days) or Download File size: 300MB
Keep for up to 30 days
Better viewing quality
Play offline

Nation on Film
Munich Remembered
Duration: 30 minutes
Archive footage and personal testimony tell the story of the Munich air disaster 50 years on. Contributors include survivors including ex-player Bobby Charlton.
(Available for 6 more days)

Birth and Rise of the Babes
As challenges go, the manager's job at Manchester United in 1945 seemed to be the equivalent of scaling Mount Everest in bare feet.

During the 1930s, the club was twice relegated from the top division and was close to bankruptcy. Then in 1941, during the Second World War, the Luftwaffe (Nazi Germany’s air force) bombed Old Trafford, leaving United to play their home games at Maine Road - the ground of local rivals Manchester City.

Such matters were, however, incidental to Matt Busby when he agreed to take charge at United on 19 February 1945. For Busby had a glittering vision: he saw beauty in that bombed-out stadium, and the chance to create a phoenix from those flames.

A native of Bellshill, a coal-mining community in Lanarkshire, Scotland, Busby knew the value of hard work, and recognised what honest endeavour could achieve. Crucially, too, he knew both Manchester and its people, having played for Manchester City in their 1934 FA Cup success. His partnership with United would change the face of English football.

Liverpool wanted Busby back after the war as player-coach. But Busby wanted to shape the future - he dreamed of younger, fresher legs, players to mould in his image. He knew youth held the key, not only to United’s success, but the future of the game. He found a kindred spirit in his predecessor Walter Crickmer, who remained club secretary. Crickmer helped to establish the Manchester United Junior Athletic Club (MUJACs) in 1938 and from those seeds Busby’s empire was born.

Busby set up an office two bus rides from Old Trafford. “In that small office there was not much room for dreaming, or much time but dream I did,” Busby reflected. He quickly appointed an assistant, his old army mate Jimmy Murphy, who took charge of the reserves, paying special attention to the youth team.

Within two years, Busby’s pioneering, hands-on management delivered United’s first trophy for almost 40 years. The FA Cup was won in 1948 with attacking football against a Blackpool side featuring the legendary English player Stanley Matthews.

After a couple of near misses, United won the league title in 1952. But the team was ageing - the time was coming for Busby to bring young, homegrown players into his senior squad.

Roger Byrne - who had excelled in the latter stages of 1951/52 on the wing - soon became a regular at full-back. Jackie Blanchflower, who alongside Byrne had been the first players to be called “Babes”, was joined more regularly by centre-half Mark Jones, who’d also made a few appearances for 1952’s title winners. Next came Eddie Colman and a boy in a man’s body - Duncan Edwards, who made his first team debut at the age of just 17.

Rise of the Babes

Not all of Busby's players were homegrown "Babes". In March 1953, he signed centre-forward Tommy Taylor from Barnsley for £29,999. He was to form a formidable partnership with Dennis Viollet, especially in 1955/56, when at least one of them scored in 21 of the 27 games they played together.
United ran away with the title, clinching it on Saturday 7 April 1956 against Blackpool, the club they’d beaten to win Busby’s first trophy (the 1948 FA Cup). The average age of the team was just 22. “The marks of the nursery cradle were on them, but they did not show,” said Busby, glowing with pride.

The challenge was to prove that the title success in 1955/56 was no flash in the pan. But Busby wasn’t satisfied with domestic domination alone: he sought a new test in the shape of the European Cup. United entered it for the first time in the 1956/57 season, initially without the blessing of the Football Association. In the preliminary round, they demolished Belgian club Anderlecht 10-0 under Maine Road’s floodlights after a 2-0 away success. The result remains United’s biggest win in a competitive match. Having also beaten Borussia Dortmund and Athletic Bilbao, United exited in the semi-final, that great Madrid side proving too wily in a 5-3 aggregate win.

At home, the Red army marched on. A fresh young hopeful, Bobby Charlton, scored twice on his debut, appropriately enough against Charlton Athletic – and was promptly dropped, such was the quality at Busby’s disposal. A fifth consecutive FA Youth Cup trophy was secured as the conveyor belt of talent continued to move.

The league title was retained as Taylor and Viollet once again teamed up admirably, but the top scorer was Ireland’s Liam Whelan who hit 26 goals. United had became an irresistible force – almost. Aston Villa prevented them winning the first league
and FA Cup double of the modern age with a controversial 2-1 win at Wembley. The scorer of Villa’s goals Peter McParland was the villain, his shoulder barge on Ray Wood resulting in the United goalkeeper fracturing a cheekbone.

Despite that disappointment, time was on United’s side. Thoughts soon turned to capturing a third title in a row and another assault on Europe. Busby bolstered his Babes with another big signing, paying a world record fee for a goalkeeper to bring in Harry Gregg.

The season unfolded much like the previous two with smooth progress both domestically and in Europe. February opened with a thrilling encounter against Arsenal at Highbury. In an absorbing match, United edged out the Gunners 5-4; ideal preparation for the daunting European Cup quarter-final second-leg trip to meet Red Star Belgrade...

I found Bobby Charlton and Dennis Viollet in a pool of water . . .I thought that they must be dead.
HARRY GREGG, Goalkeeper

When we came in to Munich to refuel we did not see the ground until we were about to touch down because of the very low cloud.

After we had all reboarded we started to take off, I was looking out of the window and saw the wheels locking, slewing the plane around. Captain (James) Thain said there was a technical fault and that he would try again.

This did not work either so we all got off the plane and went back into the terminal building.

I remember buying some Player's cigarettes and saying we would have to go home by boat via the Hook of Holland.

When we got back on we were all quite nervy. I tried to crack a few jokes but Johnny Berry was too anxious and said he thought we would all be killed. Billy Whelan said: "If that's going to happen then I'm ready for it."

We set off again and I remember seeing a tree and a house passing by and then everything went black and sparks began to fly.

I was hit hard on the back of the head and thought the top of my skull had been cut off. The plane seemed to turn on its side.

There was no crying. Just silence and blackness. I thought I was dead so I sat there quietly and thought what a great life and wonderful family I had.

I realised I was alive and climbed out. The captain told me to run for it but I heard a child crying. People were telling me to run for it but I crawled back into the wreckage.

I found the baby and started to carry it out and then went back into the debris for the mother but she was in a bad condition. I found Albert Scanlon, who was badly hurt and trapped. He was being comforted by Peter Howard, the Daily Mail photographer.

I ran round the back and found Bobby Charlton and Dennis Viollet lying in a pool of water. I thought they were dead and dragged their bodies like rag dolls towards the seats that had been thrown 20 yards from the plane.

I started calling for Jackie (Blanchflower) and saw the tail end of the plane ablaze. I found Matt Busby, who was conscious but holding his chest in pain. I left him and found Jackie, sitting up to his waist in water, and Roger (Byrne) was close by him. Jackie's arm was bleeding badly so I tied a tourniquet on it with my tie. I pulled so hard I snapped the tie.

There was an explosion and I turned round and got the shock of my life, for there were Dennis and Bobby standing, just watching the fire.

I was so relieved. I was sure they were dead.

Shortly after this, when the rescuers had everything under control, I sank to my knees and wept, thanking God that some of us had been saved. I had never seen death before and never wanted to see it again.

I stayed at a hotel in Munich that night and looked out and saw the snow piled high on the cars. I wondered what it was burying at the airport.

I went back to the hospital for an injection the following morning. Many of the lads were in a bad way. I was told that 'Digger' Berry only had a 25 per cent chance and I remember Duncan (Edwards) — who was fairly ill — asking what time kick-off was the next Saturday.

There was one amazing angel who arrived, and that was Jean Busby. She was magnificent, caring for everyone even though her own husband was lying upstairs gravely ill.

A few days after I got home I noticed that people were hiding the newspapers from me. They were trying to protect me from news of Duncan's death. That brave boy — who I had spoken to only days before — was now dead and I couldn't accept it. For me that was the beginning and the end of Munich.

I will always remember standing on that snow-swept airfield feeling helpless and alone.

I will always feel a part of something great; the greatest club in the world. Maybe not always the best team — but they were the most loved.

Devilmac wrote:If you missed the BBC4 docs, try these (but hurry, only available for 6 more days.):-

Nation on Film
Sir Bobby Remembers Munich
Duration: 30 minutes
Sir Bobby Charlton tells the story of the Munich air disaster fifty years on. He gives a personal account of the event and its impact.
(Available for 6 more days) or Download File size: 300MB
Keep for up to 30 days
Better viewing quality
Play offline

Nation on Film
Munich Remembered
Duration: 30 minutes
Archive footage and personal testimony tell the story of the Munich air disaster 50 years on. Contributors include survivors including ex-player Bobby Charlton.
(Available for 6 more days)

Thank you for all the stuff on here. A lot of them have got me crying at work but I just can't get enough. Thank you once more. I feel so proud to be a fan and supporter of such a greaet club. The memories will live forever with us.